New to the community as a user; received the HE Monday and need assistance understanding the Echo Dot integration. I've done quite a bit of reading, but still unclear on one point. Like the fact that HE is locally networked, i.e., doesn't require internet/cloud. Can I use the Echo Dot without the Alexa device? Does HE with integration app take the place of the Alexa hub? Most information I 'Googled' would lead u to believe that Alexa is required. Thanks!
I am confused by your question... The Echo Dot is an Alexa Device, just like the Echo, Echo Plus, Show, Spot, etc... These are all physical devices running Alexa software from Amazon.
To use any of these devices with Hubitat, you must be willing to use the Amazon Cloud servers, as these cloud servers are able to process your voice requests into commands. These commands are then issued to the Hubitat Hub via the "Hubitat Skill" which you install using the mobile phone app, Alexa (from Amazon.)
Once you click Enable on the Hubitat Skill inside the Alexa App on your phone, you will be prompted to log into your Hubitat account and select a Hubitat Hub. This will install an App on your Hubitat Hub called "Amazon Echo Skill" which will allow you to choose which devices you want to expose to your Echo Dot. The communications path is Echo Dot to Amazon Cloud to Hubitat Cloud Endpoint Server to Hubitat Hub.
Hopefully this clears things up. If not, feel free to ask away!
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To add to @ogiewon's answer: I'm also confused by this aspect of the question, but perhaps here you mean the few Echo/Alexa devices that have a built-in ZigBee hub? (Right now, I think that's just the new/2018 Echo Show and the Echo Plus devices.) If so, yes, you can use Hubitat (which is, among other things, also a ZigBee hub) as the hub instead of the Echo device. I'd actually recommend doing that since Hubitat is much more powerful, and you can still use these devices with Alexa (voice control) by linking Hubitat to your Alexa account as described above. (By "more powerful," I mean that Hubitat has much more possibilities for automations--rules and apps and whatnot--than Alexa--where "routines" in the app that offer simple things like "do X when Y happens" are the only option.)
Thanks!! That's what I needed to know. I was hoping to keep voice commands processed locally without using cloud (I was hoping that HE hub would do this, but doesn't appear so). Thanks again.
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Yes, I'm probably not asking the question correctly, so let's back up with what I'm trying to accomplish and ask this in a different way. I'd like to use voice commands that allow HE to control functions like lights on/off or blinds open/close. But, I was looking for a solution that doesn't require an internet connection. Is there such a solution?
I am not aware of any voice command solutions that integrate with Hubitat that do not require an Internet connection. Also, Hubitat's native Text to Speech (TTS) capability utilizes Amazon Web Services to convert the text to speech, so it also requires an Internet connection.
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Thanks, much appreciation for all the assistance!
